Parenthood
by Villains' Bad Girl
Summary: Five months after the horror with Vigo, how are Denise and Ray adjusting to parenthood? Sequel to Our Family
1. Family Ride

_Hey-O! Told you my previous fic wasn't the last one for Ray and Donna. This fic won't be as long as the others. It'll be them adjusting to their lives as parents._

* * *

"Ray?" Denise chuckled as she stood outside with baby Danielle in her arms.

She stood outside her and Ray's house watching as he drove up to the house on a motorcycle. It had been five months since that terror with Vigo. With Ray working again, they had quickly earned all the money for their savings back. Denise's mom, Margaret went home, leaving her, Ray and Danielle alone. Denise watched Ray pull the motorcycle up in the driveway with a smile on his face.

"Ray, what is this?" she asked. "Where did you get this motorcycle?"

"I bought it", he answered.

"We have a perfectly fine car", Denise said. "Why did you buy a motorcycle?"

"I thought we could go for a spin around the neighborhood as a family. Look we got a passenger car and two extra helmets."

"Honey, I don't think Dani is old enough for the motocycle."

"Give it a try", Ray said. "She'll love it."

"Alright...let me get her bundled up."

Denise walked around the motorcycle, taking a look at it. She gasped when she saw the back of the passenger car and couldn't help but laugh.

"Helmet laws suck", she read the bumper sticker. "Really?"

"I thought it was funny", Ray shrugged.

She shook her head chuckling and went into the house to grab Danielle's jacket. The baby cooed as she watched her mother put her jacket on and put her hood over her head.

"Ready to go for a ride with Daddy?" Denise asked as she put on her own jacket.

Danielle smiled and giggled. Denise smiled and picked up the baby, carrying her out to the took Danielle, allowing her to climb into the passenger car and put on a helmet. Denise took Danielle into her arms and put a helmet onto her head. It was too big for her and ended up covering practically her whole head. Ray put the goggles from his helmet over his eyes and backed out of the driver.

"Not too fast now", Denise said. "Don't want to scare the baby."

"Don't worry", Ray said.

She held Danielle tight as Ray drove the motorcycle, cruising around the neighborhood. Danielle giggled and clapped her hands enjoying the ride.

* * *

_Can you guess the motorcycle and bumper sticker reference?_


	2. Ray and Danielle

"Honey, today's your day off, right?" Denise asked.

"Yeah, I took the weekend off to be with you and Danielle", Ray said.

"Great. Can you watch her while I run to the store, real quick? Got to go pick up some more formula and diapers."

"Yeah, I can watch her", he said.

"Great!"

Denise kissed Ray and Danielle before going out the door. The minute the door shut behind her, Danielle started to cry. She hated it when her mother left. She never knew when or if she would come back. Ray picked up Danielle and held her.

"It's okay", he said. "It's okay. Mommy has a few errands to run. She'll be back soon."

Danielle continued to cry.

"Don't cry", Ray said. "It's alright. Daddy's here."

She continued to cry. Ray was starting to feel nervous. Danielle never cried this much, and always had Denise here to help take care of her. He held her unsure of what to do but try and make her happy. Ray sat her in her highchair trying to think of something. He looked at her and started sticking his tongue out at her.

"Look at the funny face!" he said. "Look at the funny face, Dani!"

Danielle stopped crying and watched her father making ridiculous faces. She didn't know whether to find it funny or frightening.

"See the funny face, Dani?" he asked.

Ray continued making faces, trying to cheer his daughter up. He pulled her out of her highchair and smiled as she reached out her hands to his face. Ray held her close and nuzzled his nose against hers. Danielle giggled as she touched his face.

"Who's a pretty girl?" Ray asked with a smile. "Who's a pretty girl?"

He gently tossed her into the air and caught her in his hands, holding her close. Danielle giggled as she looked up at Ray. He smiled and carried her to the living room where her toys were. Ray laid her down on the blanket and laid down next to her. Danielle squealed happily as she reached her hands up, trying to grab the toys he was dangling in front of her.

"Daddy loves you so much, Dani", Ray said as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

_So, so sorry for the short chapters. I'm trying to beat writer's block and school isn't helping_


	3. A Break

Denise sighed as she got up. Ray was sleeping beside her and Danielle was in the nursery, crying as she woke up. Denise checked the clock by the bed to see it read 4:30 AM. She sighed as she got up and walked to the nursery. Denise and Ray loved their daughter but these sleepless nights were beginning to take their toll on them. Ray was sleeping during his time off, and Denise nearly fell asleep on the job.

Danielle cried loud as Denise came into the room.

"It's alright, sweetie", she yawned. "Mommy's here."

She picked up Danielle and rocked her gently in her arms. Danielle continued to cry.

"She's awake again?" Ray yawned.

Denise nodded handing her to him. He sighed and took her to the changing table.

"Well", he sighed. "At least she's sleeping more often."

"I don't know how much more I can take", Denise said sitting down in the chair. "All this parent work is exhausting. I'm not saying I don't want to be a parent anymore. I just want a break. Can we get someone to watch her just for a day?"

"Do you really want to do that?" Ray asked. "We've never been away from Danielle for a full day."

"Just for a few hours at least", she said. "Please? Just so we can have some time to ourselves."

After Ray changed Danielle, he handed her to Denise. He watched her rock the baby in her arms, looking half asleep. They desperately needed a break from parenting for a while.

"Alright", he sighed. "I'll call Egon in the morning and see if he'll take Danielle for the day."

* * *

"Thank you so much, Egon. You have no idea how much this means to us."

Egon held Danielle as he watched Denise pack a bag for her. Danielle seemed very happy to be going off with her godfather.

"Alrighty", Denise said as she zipped up the bag. "I packed her some diapers, bottles. Her favorite toys and story books are in there in case she wants them. Are you sure you don't mind watching her?"

"You and Ray look like you can use a break", Egon said.

"Thanks, Egon. Be a good girl, Dani. Mommy loves you so much."

She wrapped her arms as she kissed Danielle goodbye. Egon carried Danielle in her carrier and the bag to the taxi waiting for him. Denise smiled as she waved, watching them leave. She went into the house. It was just her and Ray alone in the house for the rest of the day.

"So", she started. "What should we do now?"

"I think I have an idea", Ray said with a smile.

The rest of the day found Ray and Denise in bed snoring as they slept without having to wake up to a crying baby for the rest of the day.


	4. Time with Egon

_So sorry for the long delay. School's almost over so that means finals are coming up. Yay…_

* * *

Danielle cried her eyes out as Egon brought her into the firehouse. She had never been away from both parents and it was extremely frightening for her. She cried and cried wanting to go back home to her parents.

Egon looked at Danielle. He didn't understand what was wrong with her. Every time he came over to Ray and Denise's, Danielle was always so well behaved. She never cried this much. Egon sat her carrier on the table and looked at her, trying to figure out what to do.

"What do babies like?" he wondered as Danielle continued to cry.

Danielle watched as Egon pulled keys from his pocket and shook them in front of her. She stopped crying for a moment, but started back up. Danielle just wanted her parents. Egon looked at the baby and tried to think of something else. He picked up a tape measure off the desk and stretched it out, trying to entertain her. Danielle continued to cry. She didn't like the tape measure.

"You have no idea how to take care of a baby, do you?" Janine asked as she and Louis came into the room.

"Who's baby is that?" Louis asked.

"This is Danielle", Egon said. "She's Ray's and Denise's daughter."

Janine smiled as she picked up Danielle out of her carrier. Danielle screamed louder as she continued crying. She was now in the hands of a strange looking woman she had never seen before. Janine gently bounced the crying baby in her arms, trying to cheer her up. Egon watched them, seeing how scared Danielle looked.

"Here, I got her", he said taking her back into his arms.

Danielle looked at Egon and stopped crying. She knew Egon was a nice person, she could trust him more than this strange lady. Danielle snuggled into his chest and yawned. Egon looked at her and smiled softly as he held her in his arms, rocking her gently. The baby smiled and closed her eyes as she wrapped her little fingers around Egon's bigger finger.

"You're better with kids than I thought", Janine said as she watched him.

Egon put Danielle back in her carrier and took her into his lab where he started experimenting with bits of technology he had been working on recently. He looked at the sleeping baby and smiled. He didn't know how it was possible for a little baby to worm his way into his heart so easily.


	5. Fun Time

Ray yawned as he woke early. It felt great to have a full night's sleep in such a long time. He looked over to Denise who was still sleeping.

"Hey", he whispered kissing her cheek.

Denise opened her eyes yawning.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"About 8", Ray said getting up.

"Where are you going?" she asked sitting up.

"Just going to call Egon and check on Danielle."

Denise sighed and laid back down in bed. She hoped Egon wouldn't mind taking care of Danielle for one more day. She and Ray got their rest, now it was quality time with each other. She wanted things to be perfect with Ray. But what could they do for the day?

"How is Dani?" Denise asked as he came back.

"She loves Egon", Ray said. "Egon seems to love her. I never heard him talk about a child with more affection as he did."

"Does he mind watching her a little longer?"

"We should pick her up tonight", he answered. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Denise laid back in bed and started thinking about what to do with Ray it had been months since they were alone. Maybe they could have a little bit of fun. Denise got up and started decorating the house, setting the mood for the day.

"Ray", she knocked on the bathroom door. "Don't take too long in there. I got things planned for us."

"You made plans?" he asked. "You didn't have to."

"It's just for us. I'll be waiting."

* * *

Ray sighed as he got out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the door.

"What the…?"

He looked down to see lit candles across the floor, leading from the bedroom, to the hallway. He could hear slow music playing in the house. Ray looked at the candles as he followed them to the kitchen. They stopped at the refrigerator where a note was pinned on the door.

"_Have a drink – come get me!"_

Ray opened the door, getting a beer out of the refrigerator, trying to figure out what Denise was doing. He turned around to see more candles leading out of the kitchen to the living room. He looked at the candles and followed them to the living room. The music was growing louder. Ray stopped as he saw Denise laying on the couch wearing lingerie.

"There you are, Ray", she smiled as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Ray looked at her, stuttering nervously. He didn't know Denise was planning something like this.

"You look so surprised", Denise said. "Come on, honey, why don't we have a little fun?"

"Should…we?" Ray nervously asked thinking about Danielle.

"Dani's not home. We're safe."

Denise got up and slipped her robe off. Ray watched as he popped the top off the beer bottle, watching with wide eyes. She giggled and walked toward him. No matter how long they were together, Ray was always going to be the shy type.

"I love you, Ray…"

Denise softly kissed his lips as she gently tugged on the towel around his waist. Ray watched her and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her. It was a good thing all the curtains were closed, otherwise the neighbors would never let them hear the end of it.


	6. Babysitter Egon

Denise and Ray laid together in bed with nothing but a thin sheet to cover them. Ray kept his arms wrapped around Denise as she looked at him, her eyes full of trust and love.

"Ray", she breathed. "You haven't been this energenic since our first time."

"I hadn't been this excited in years", he chuckled. "It was nice to have Danielle out of the house for a while."

"We should get Egon to watch her more often", Denise smiled. "He hasn't called once to complain about her or anything. I'm starting to worry about her."

"Why?" Ray asked. "Wouldn't this mean that she's behaving?"

"Honey, Egon has no experience in babysitting. I think we should go and pick her up now."

He nodded and got up to get dressed. Denise got up and got dressed as well. They walked out to the car and got in to pick up Danielle.

"I would have to say this has been one of the better weekends we've had", Denise said with a smile.

Ray nodded as he pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

Ray smiled at Denise as he drove the car. They were on their way to the firehouse to pick up Danielle.

"We'll have to do this again sometime", Denise smiled as she reached across, running her hand up Ray's thigh.

He blushed and quickly pulled his leg back. He didn't want to risk trying anything while he was driving. They were actually thinking about turning this into a weekly thing, leaving Danielle with Egon on the weekends so they could have time to relax and have fun.

"Honey, do you think Egon would like watching Dani every weekend?" Denise asked.

"He might", Ray answered. "Danielle loves Egon."

Denise looked out the window as he drove through the city. Ray parked the car on the curb, outside the fire house.

"Dani!" Denise called as she and Ray went inside. "Dani, sweetie! Mommy and Daddy are here!"

They looked around to see Janine sitting at her desk as she touched up her makeup. Louis was sitting across from him, going over some numbers in the paperwork he was handling.

"Where's Egon?" Ray asked.

"He's in the lab with Danielle, Dr. Stantz", Janine said.

"I hope he's not doing any experimenting around her", Louis said. "Seems unfitting to bring a baby into a science lab."

Ray followed Denise as she rushed to the lab. She heard how overboard Egon could go with his experiments. Ray mentioned the time Egon almost put a drill through his own head.

"Egon?"

She and Ray looked in the lab to see Egon playing with the slime he still kept from the Vigo incident. Danielle was sitting in her carrier clapping and giggling as she watched the slime bubble with her emotions.

"Is he still sleeping with that stuff?" Denise asked.

Ray shrugged as he walked into the lab. Danielle smiled and squealed happily and reached her hands out as she saw her father. He smiled as he picked her up, kissing the top of her head.

"How was she?" Ray asked.

"She's very well-behaved", Egon answered. "You two should be proud of her."

"We are", Denise said. "Egon, you had a good time watching Dani, didn't you?"

"The experience was nice", he answered. "I see being a godfather to Danielle will be very enjoyable."

"Well, would you like to babysit her again next weekend?" she asked. "Dani really seems to love you. You two are going to have a really good friendship."

"I would like that", Egon said smiling.

"How about it?" Ray asked as he bounced Danielle in his arms. "Would you like to visit Egon every weekend?"

The baby smiled as squealed as she reached out, grabbing Egon's finger. Egon smiled as he let the baby do as she pleased.


End file.
